Birding In Odzala
Mboko

by Gaël R. Vande weghe

2015

Mboko provides very good birding opportunities with a diverse mix of forest and savanna mosaic landscapes. The river located behind the lodge and in front of the rooms hosts a variety of specialized species. These include the easily spotted Shining-blue Kingfisher and the Violet-backed Sunbird, which is frequently found exploring the tall vegetation along the riverbank. The savanna is home to several characteristic species such as the Blue-breasted Bee-eater and the Red-necked Spurfowl, with the occasional visit from Forbes’s Plover adding a rewarding element to the experience. Additionally, several paths offer easy forest exploration, allowing visitors to encounter most of the typical forest species. These trails include a boardwalk that links the lodge to the road leading to Lango.

Here are a few species photographed while exploring the surroundings of Mboko and the Lekoli.

 

Congo Serpent Eagle – Dryotriorchis spectabilis

Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle – Hieraaetus ayresii

Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle – Aquila africana

Forbes’s Plover – Charadrius forbesi

Narina Trogon – Apaloderma narina

Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo – Cercococcyx mechowi

Shining-blue Kingfisher – Alcedo quadribrachys

Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill – Lophoceros camurus

Elliot’s Woodpecker – Chloropicus elliotii

Buff-spotted Woodpecker – Stictopicus nivosa

Western Black-headed Oriole – Oriolus brachyrynchus

Cassin’s Flycatcher – Muscicapa cassini

Eastern Forest Robin – Stiphornis xanthogaster

Lowland Akalat – Sheppardia cyornithopsis

Western Black-headed Batis – Batis erlangeri

Verreaux’s Batis – Batis minima

Chestnut Wattle-eye – Dyaphorophyia castanea (male)

Chestnut Wattle-eye – Dyaphorophyia castanea (female)

Little Greenbul – Eurillas virens

Red-tailed Greenbul – Criniger calurus

Red-throated Swallow – Petrochelidon rufigula

Whistling Cisticola – Cisticola lateralis

Grey Longbill – Macrosphenus concolor

Violet-tailed Sunbird – Anthreptes aurantium

Reichenbach’s Sunbird – Anabathmis reinchenbachii

Blue-throated Brown Sunbird – Cyanomitra cyanolaema

Marsh Widowbird – Euplectes hartlaubi